Monday, February 25, 2008

UPDATE: Veronica Hearst

Hold on to your britches children because Veronica Hearst's real estate shit has finally hit the fan and the Manhattan-based socialite is screwed six ways from Sunday as far as Your Mama can tell. Now puppies, before any of you get your moral panties in a bunch, we are not dancing on Miz Hearst's real estate grave. The ladee bleeds just like everyone else and her financial woes are nothing to be gleeful about. However, Your Mama has been following Miz Hearst's trail of foreclosure tears for quite some time and we need to see the story through to its inevitable and uglee climax.

According to the Palm Beach Post, the dirty deed has been done and the 28,000 square foot, 52 room Villa Venezia was auctioned off in a foreclosure sale for just $22,000,000. The children will recall from previous discussions that Villa Venezia is the palatial Palm Beach pile for which Miz Hearst plunked down a hefty $29,870,807 just a couple of months before her huzband and newspaper scion Randolph Hearst died in 2000.

Over the years Miz Hearst borrowed heavily against the property, presumably to pay its $375,000 yearly tax bill and to maintain her lavish lifestyle of private jets, Couture Dior and $100,000 tables at charity galas. The buyers of the estate that stretches gracefully from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Worth are New Stream Capital, the plaintiffs in the foreclosure proceedings who happen to be the very same outfit that holds more than $40,000,000 in mortgages owed by The Widow Hearst.

According to a recent and eye popping article in the New York Daily News, Miz Hearst has been very bizzy selling everything that isn't glued down or already mortgaged in an effort to scare up some cash. And it looks like she's gonna need all the pennies she can find in the sofa cushions because the ladee reportedly put up her full floor co-op in a swanky Fifth Avenue building and her 45-acre estate in New Castle, NY as collateral against the massive mortgages in the event the foreclosure sale of Villa Venezia did not produce enough to pay off New Stream, which of course, it did not.

Since Villa Venezia sold for just $22,000,000, Miz Hearst remains in deep financial doo-doo with New Stream for another $16,000,000 (or more), and as such they can force the sale of her other collateralized assets in order to recoup their money. Oh dear. So get ready children, because unless the bible scholar sells a boatload of baubles and rare books or finds a benefactor to loan her another $16,000,000, Your Mama expects we'll see New Stream go after at least one of Miz Hearst's other properties to pay off her still considerable debt. These people at New Stream are clearly done messing around and waiting for Miss Missy Socialite to restructure her debt, hawk her jewelry or find a rich huzband. They want their damn money and they're gonna do whatever it takes to get it.

Someone better tell the high fallutin' board at Miz Hearst's co-op because the big spending Widow Hearst reportedly did not get permission to pledge her unit as collateral. And you can't pull that shit with a co-op kids, at least not without stirring up all manner of uppity co-op board rage. Those are sure to be some angry-ass rich people up in 4 East 66th Street if they are forced to deal with a foreclosure and property auction that might allow an undesirable element to swoop in and scoop up Miz Hearst's 7,000 square feet (approx.) of dee-luxe Fifth Avenue dee-lishusness.

If Your Mama were the betting type we'd wager our long bodied bitches Linda and Beverly that that the high net worth residents are already meeting in secret to pool their resources in the event they need to purchase the full floor apartment at auction. In fact we would not be the least bit soo-prized if the co-op board's people have already approached Miz Hearst's people about quietly selling her shares back to the co-op at fair market value. We speculate kids, so don't go reporting that like we know what we're talking about.

Anyhoo, it must be some relief for Miz Hearst to finally unload that white elephant in Palm Beach even if she's still has a lot of hot financial coals to walk across before she can slip her feet comfortably back into a pair of 5 inch Louboutin heels. In the mean time we sincerely wish Miz Hearst fortitude and some good damn advice from her top notch attorneys who Your Mama hopes are telling her to sell everything, pay off New Stream, and buy herself an elegant little one bedroom at The Sherry Netherland with the left over cash. That is if she can get passed the board at The Sherry now that she's a financial hot potato.

37 comments:

Anonymous
said...

So it begins, one of themost corrupt rulers of the masons/illumati dies and his innocent loving wife is left to fend for herself and the warriors that are at the bottom of the food chain are coming in for the big feast, what a classic, I am sure there are more to follow, btw did you hear about the latest forclosure story ? Corruption, foreclosure, a dead dog and a skeleton ?

here is the link

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland

I wonder if that is going to happen to any of the homes in BH, Bel Air this year ?

There might be some Byzantine way that she keeps the co-op, if she put it up as collateral, in that it is a co-op and therefore, not transferable in the same way that a condo is. You can't sell something that you don't have the rights to sell, essentially.

But I am not a real estate or tax attorney. While I would not wish this on Ms. Hearst, I do think her woes are entirely of her own making. She was left with enough that she could have lived comfortably, and she chose to act as if spending money like water would lead her to the ocean, not Death Valley.

Also, New Stream must be totally peeing in their pants to have that Palm Beach home in their hot little hands for only $22mm. I'm sure they will unload it for a profit.

It's terrible! The poor woman! She does have quite a few people who don't care for her- but still! Terrible. The house is a difficult sale because of its rather odd layout. It's essentially a one story house- look at the ocean facade. I spoke with a friend down there, who's been to the house, and she said that it has limited appeal. I think that youre right about the co-op, but it bepends on how the bylaws are written, and they can vary greatly.

You'd think the Hearsts who are still worth a great deal of money could just pay off the $16M - It's not a lot of money. There may be family politics involved but I'm sure none of her 5 [?] step-daughters wish her any harm or wish her homeless ...

Perhaps she has been spending to much money but that's the type of life she's had since she was a child ... Born in Monaco, raised in Switzerland, daughter of a Princess ... I mean, I just don't see her travelling between N.Y & Palm Beach on JetBlue!

$16M is not a lot of money? Really? Just because she was raised that way doesn't mean that is the way she should live as an adult.

it's a great lesson to all...whether a zillionaire or a blue collar worker... to not live beyond our means. Or to moderate as necessary. $100K tables? Couture? All paid for with mortgages. Personally, if I was one of the stepdaughters, I'd be ashamed. Maybe I would try to help out of respect for my father, but there would be major, major stipulations.

The Hearst trusts can only be inherited by blood line Hearsts so Veronica, who was not well liked by the Hearst family, was S.O.L. after Randy died. I don't think any of the Hearsts are going to step in to help her.

From the looks of things, beyotch should have been flying Jet Blue and shopping at the Gap.

The step daughters won't help. Not good relationships there.Remember, she's much flashier than the rest of the family.You're right about the Sherry Netherland, Mama!The one bedrooms are Divoone! :)But the board...?

Irrespective of the relationship with her step-daughters, she was married to their Father at the time of his death & 16M is very little when you have billions floating around - Yeah, I'm sure the majority of it is tied up in trusts but I'm sure Patty & her sisters have many millions stashed away that they can get their hands on immediately ... Stepmothers usually suck but sometimes your feelings for a person have to be set aside & in this case they should respect the fact that their Father was married to her & she is, like it or not a Hearst.

Although I don't like to see anyone hit rough financial times it must be said that Ms Hearst is getting what she deserves. When one is irresponsible with one's money these things happen. She lived beyond her means and it caught up with her. Perhaps she'll hold onto her co op. Perhaps.

Girlfriend, Suze Orman's 'Women & Money' book is $20 at Borders. Give it a read.

Illuminati conspiracy theories are nonsense, and Veronica Hearst is not particularly innocent. Her stepchildren from all of her marriages are said to hate her.

Her apartment in New York should be worth between $30 and $35 million. The unit below it sold for $29 million during the summer, and an apartment of similar size on a slightly higher floor in an equally grand building a block away sold for $33 million and change last fall. A somewhat smaller apartment a little higher up one block in the other direction sat on the market for a while at $40 million, although it may have been taken off by now.

She should sell her estate in Westchester to a developer of McMansions on acre lots. Maybe it would have gone for more a few months ago. It is much less important to her status than the apartment is.

Much as everyone may hate the poor woman, still it is a tragedy that the Hearst family trusts are set up in such a way that they cannot protect their supposedly good name (snigger) by bailing her out of her current crisis and then leaving her to sink or swim.

No matter how rich or poor you are, losing your home(s) in such a publicly embarrassing way must be painful, no matter how badly she may have treated people.

I think it's high time this "bible scholar" re-familiarize herself with the passage, "It is easier to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven."

LGB, not sure what your grandfather taught you, but this woman is exactly why these trusts were designed, so that one generation can't pillage a family legacy. Rest assured, she was provide enough for her comfort. Her own poor decisions, and arrogance, got her in to this pickle.

Even if I could write a $16 million check, I wouldn't be in any hurry to bail out a spendthrift stepmother -- particularly one who only came on the scene when I was already in my 30s or 40s -- unless we'd gotten very chummy over the years. On the assumption that we have an accurate sense of the situation, if I were one of the Hearst kids I'd feel very comfortable letting her work it out on her own -- with the clearly substantial Hearst assets already in her possession.

I thought about this all the way on the train into work this morning; whether to let sleeping dogs lie, or to beat the dead horse.

Much to the chagrin of most of you, I've chosen to beat the dead horse, as I have already posted an apology elsewhere.

Last night I posted a comment that was not only patently untrue, but mean-spirited and hurtful which I regret and for which I deeply apologize:

Realtor=soulless

The irony is I know this is not true; last year, after much agonizing, we decided to sell a summer home that had been in the family for generations, because it had become too much of a financial burden.

Long story somewhat shorter, the realtor could not have been kinder, nor more understanding of our plight in having to let go of a beloved property. Not only did he get us a fair price for it, but he also found us the kind of buyer we were hoping for; one that would love the home as much as we did.

So please accept my apology for making such a sweeping generalization that was untrue. I'm truly sorry to have offended all you realtors out there who work hard and are good at what you do.

Funny thing, but I was watching a dvd yesterday of market research where people were interviewed on the streets of Chicago. To a person, they all had bad things to say about Realtors in general, and they all had positively glowing things to say about their own personal Realtors (when they could remember their names!!). There is a lesson there, but I do not care to expound on it so early in the morning.

I wouldn't blame her for bad money management. When you're born into a family like hers you have no idea about the value of money - It's just always there. Her Parents were wealthy, 1st husband, 2nd husband & so on - It may be hard to believe but some people, especially in her circles, just don't have any grasp of money - Thats why they have lawyers/accountants/advisers/trustees/investment banks/family offices/tax specialists etc... dealing with it & advising them - In this case I think she's just had bad advice - this should have been spotted years ago.

Hearst was an anti-semite, bigot, homophobe, and steered this country though his newsparers to more than one unneccessary and destructive wars. He was a terrible man and a meglomaniac. A robber barron, whose legacy should be scrutinized and is shameful.

By the way, I havent posted the other comments, just answering your question!

Hearst is most likely up in hell with a pineapple in his mouth and a porcupine in his A**** he has ruined many lives including my families, we would have been very rich if it was not for his connections with the politicians that drove us away from our lands.

Knowing Hearst's attitude and penchant for stepping on what he termed "the little people", I have no doubt that your post is any sort of attempt at self aggrandizement or false attempt to elevate yourself above what he would have termed "your station."

From first to last, with family, friends, and even Marion Davies the man was an absolute shit, and Hell can never repay him for what he did over the years.

Great Aunt Iris met Hearst when she was a single cocktail waitress before meeting Great Uncle Joe (he was old money). Hearst insisted she dine with him at his apartment. She said he was an absolute freak in bed but afterwards wanted her to clean the house for him. She cleaned alright. Walked out with an expensive statuette hidden under her skirt. It's around here somewhere. Over there - holding the door to the patio of my luxurious penthouse condo in the Wilshire Corridor open. Sometimes it gets windy and I have to set Aunt Iris next to it to hold the door open.

lol..she used to buy my costume jewelry at Bergdorf Goodman, wear it for a week and then send some poor mexican maid in to return it for her account to be credited.did it many times over and over. it was always the same pair of earrings..poor bitch